Apparatus and procedure for severing and delivering molten glass



June 27, 1939.

APPARATUS AND PROCEDURE FOR SEVERING AND DELIVERING MOLTEN GLASSOriginal Filed May 22, 1934 F. L.O

. wADswoRTH 2,164,184

2 Sheets-Sheet l NVENTOR.

V65/L A TToRNEYs.

June 1939. F. L. o. wA-DSWORTH '2,164,184

APPARATUS AND lPROCEDURE FUR vSEVERING AND `DEIJIVE'RNG MOLTEN GLASSOriginal Filed Ma-y22, 1934 2 Sheets-Sheet A2 i Poetica June' 27, 1939`y PATENT orrlcs APPARATUSv PROCDURE FOB SEVER- ING AND DELIVERINGMOLTEN GLASS Frank L. o. Wadsworth, aeeeasea'nte or Piusbuigh, Pa., byMildred M. Wadsworth, administratrix, Pittsburgh, Pa., assignor to vBallBrothers Company, Muncie, Ind., a corporation Indiana Originalapplication May 22, 1934, Serial No. 726,874. t Divided and thisppllctl'li May 29, 1937, Serial N0. 145,448

14 Claims.`

An object of the present invention is to provide a shearing mechanismwhich will elect a rapid severance of a continuously flowing stream` l5of preshaped sections into separate mold charges and will deliver thesecharges to successive molds of a forming machine at a speed greatly inexcess of'the velocity such charges would attain while falling freelyunder the inuence of do gravity. 'This particular purpose is to providea severing mechanism which will perform the combined functions ofcutting such successive' mold charges from a continuously owing streamand projecting each such severed `marge to- 25 ward andinto a movingmold under the joint -inuence of gravity and of 'a supplementalaccelerating force.

A further object is to provide a severed mechanism which is sodesignedand `operated that it 30 vis adapted to sever acontinuouslyfiowing and t Yperiodically enlarged stream withoutretarding its downward movement and without distorting its preformedcontour, and is further .adapted to directly conilne and project .eachsuccessively lo cut-oil gob into a mold or receiving receptacle at suchvelocity as to completely ll the mold cavity and also enable'thisdelivery to be made. if desired, when the receiving receptacle is movving at a relatively high speed.A This accumu- .404 lated veldity offorced delivery is Isubstantially greater than the velocity which would`be attained by the charge `if it were merely to fall freely into themold after severance from -the stream, and this' feature of myimprovement materially reduces the time of delivering eachsuccessively'formed and severed mold charge to a forming machine,therebyv increasing the possible number of such deliveries per unit oftime.4

60 Such construction .also permits the receiving Lmolds to be positionedin close proximity to the feeder oriilce and decreases the loss of heatto the surrounding air.

. These and other objects which may be .at- 55 tained are accomplishedbymeans or this inven- "trates a second exempliication of my improved (Cl.4a-14)' tion, one exemplication of which is illustrated in the drawings,wherein:

. Figure l is a longitudinal vertical section through the plane of a.ilow oriiice and illustrates one form of the improved shear mechanism; TE

Fig. 2 is ,a view inelevationof the upper part of the machine andillustrates the means ior delivering motive iluid to the shearmechanism;

Fig.3 is a section on the plane vlIlI---IIIII of Fig. 4 is a section onthe F1a-1;Y r.,

s Fig. 5 is a diagrammatic view illustrating the means for closing theshear blades and the relative movement of the blades transversely andaxially o! the ilowlng stream dnringthe severing operation; Y v Fig. 6is a section taken on the plane VI-VI l0 plane: I-V--IV of of Fig. 1 theblade carrying arms being shown in their lowered position, also insection, for 20 convenience of illustration; v Fig. I is a verticallongitudinal section through thefdelivery oriiice of a torehearth andillusl shear mechanism; Fig.. 8 is a section taken 'on the-@planeVIII-VIIIotFig.7; Fig. 9 isa rear elevation of a portions! the 'shearmechanism shown in Fig. 7 v A"lig, 10 is a section on Athe plane X-X ofFigrSznd" f Fig. 11 .is a section on the planeXI-XI or Fim. l-Referrlilsto the speciilc forni of apparatus shown vin l'flgs. 1 to' 6 of thedrawings,y a fore-- hearth extension or feeder boot il of the usuallform is connected to the front end .of a glass melting tank or furnace(not shown) and is provided at its front end with a sub-forehearthextension I2 which projects downwardly a substantial distance below thebottom o1 the main forehi'th Il. A plate I3 is bolted against ,thelower' end of the sub-forehearth trame and forms a support for anVupwardly extendingsleeve or 'tubular member Il which is in'communication' at its upper end with the molten glasc contained in theforehearth iland forms a passage for the deliveryV of the glass in 'theforehearth to an orince 2l formed in aremovahle orifice ring or bushing20 whichis positioned in the lower end of the sleeve i4. The glass inthe forehearth passes in a continuous stream through the oriiice 2l andthis dow is increased to swell the stream by any suitable ow means, suchas the feeder disclosed in the ai'ore- I streamof regularly recurrentenlarged sections.

In order to effectively separate the continuously flowing stream passingthrough the orifice Il to form separate mold charges, it is necesbeconcurrently swung from the open position,

illustrated in f ull lines in Fig. 3, to the closed position,illustrated in dotted lines in that figure. A plate 18 is rigidlysecured to the rod 11 and ls located immediately adjacent the arms 16.This plate forms a support for two pivoted spring seats that receive twocoil springs 18-19, whose outer ends are engaged by pivoted heads on thearms 16-18, and which are so positioned that they perform the doublefunction of holding the shear blade elements 15-16, in the closed(dotted line) position of Fig. 3 and of snapping them back to openposition after the opening movement has been initiated by an externalforce.

The rear end of each arm 16 carries a laterally projecting lug Il, whichis so positioned as to engage with the edge of rotatable disc or ca mroller I2, when the supporting shaft 11 is moved downwardly; and as thismovement continues,A

the rolling cam wheel exerts a radial thrust on the engaged lug andthereby moves the associated shear blade arm to its closed position.Each roller I2 is mounted on an arm 82a which is pivotally supported ona bracket B2b extending from the side of an operating cylinder 03, thatls secured to the rear side of the sub-forehearth 92,134,1234l .maappucauon sensi No. 72am, to produce a sist the cams in completing thesevering operation; and will then act to hold the shear blades in theirclosed positions, after the lugs 8l have been carried beyond the rollerdiscs 82 by the continued downward movement of the piston rodand itsassociated parts,

As the piston 84 approaches the end of its stroke the shear arms 16-16approach a wedge-shaped lug 86. which is carried by a suitablecross-head 81 that is adjustably mounted on the posts Il which alsosupport the forehearth i on the front of the tank. This lug 86 issolocated that its wedge-shaped upper end enters between the arms 16-16,and moves these arms outwardly to such a position that the snap springs19--19 again pass through dead center points and then act to return theshear blade elements to their open position. The piston 8l is then movedback again to its upper position-by connecting the upper end of thecylinder 83 to a vacuum conduit 51 (as later described) and in thisupward movement the lugs 8I-8I engage the inner inclined faces of theroller cams 82-82, and swing their supporting arms .2a-82a outwardly asufficient distance to permit the lugs to pass between them withoutcausing any movement of the shear blade arms; after which the vspring82e acts to 'move the cam discs back again to operative position.

In .order to more effectively support and guide the shear mechanism inits up and down movement, the piston rod shaft 11 is preferably providedwith an extension 11a which passes through a bearing in the bracket 81and which is longitudinally grooved to engage with a spline pin thatwill prevent angular displacement of the vertically moving parts withrespect to the center of the flow orice', or vwith respect to the camelements liza-82a, etc. l

As previously stated, the piston 8l is operated by alternatelyconnecting the upper end of the i2. 'Ihe arms Gla-82a are connected by acoil spring c2c, which acts to normally hold the arms and the camrollers -I2, in the full line position shown in Figs. l, 3 and 4, whenthey are acting to close the shear blades; but which permits them tobemoved outwardly away from each other, duringA a subsequent step in theoperation of the shear mechanism (see infra).

. The shaft 11 passes through a stuffing box at the lower end of thecylinder and is attached l to a piston Il, which 1s moved down and up bythe successive application of a super-atmospheric and sub-atmosphericfluid pressure toits upper surface. The'longitudinal axis of thecylinder I8, and of the shaft or piston rod 11, is parallel tothe lineof flow of the stream issuing from the oriilce 2l, and the parts are sopositioned and adjusted that the shear blades 15 meet on the axis of thestream when in the closed position.

When the shear mechanism is in the uppermost position. as shown in Fig.l, the shear is open (as shown by the full line position of Fig. 3) andin this position each lug 8l is positioned slightly above the peripheryof its associated cam roller l2. As the piston moves downwardly andcarries with it'the connected elements 1'1-18- 16-10, etc., the lugsll-l are immediately engaged by the rollers .#42, and the arms 16-16 areswung toward each other to close the shear blades 15-15 and sever theowing stream of glass. It will be observed that as soon as this camactuated movement has carried the springs 1l--1l beyond their deadcenter, or maximum compression points, these springs will act toascylinder B3 to sources of super-atmospheric and sub-atmospheric fluidpressure. This is accomplished by means of adouble poppet valve B8 whichis located in a valve box 56 which also contains the valves lforoperating the feeder mechanism and which is actuated byl a cam $0 on ashaft 49. 'I'he shaft l! is journaled on aframe 44 supported on theupright posts Il and is con'- tinuously driven from a suitable source(not` shown) such as a variable speed motor and also carries cams fortiming the operation vof the feeder. Consequently, by properlypositioning the cam 90 on the shaft Il the desired time relation betweenthe operation of the feeder and the shears 15--15 can be readilyobtained. When this valve 88 is moved down, by the cam, the lower poppethead is seated, and the upper head is unseated to admit compressed airfrom the conduit 64 to the chamber 89 between the valve heads from whichit passes through the pipe 85 to the upper end of the cylinder 83. Whenthe valve is liftedby the joint action of the cam 9U and the valve stemreturn spring' 92-the connection with the compressed air line 64 is cutoff and communication is established between the vacuum conduitl51(through the branch passageway 60) the chamber 88 and the cylinderconnection 85; and the piston Il is then lifted by the superior pressureof the atmosphere on its is shown a series of small vent ports in the 75so arranged and adjusted that the shear blades meet and cross each otheron the axis .of the stream while they are moving downwardly in linetherewith.

When the blades are moved to the closed position, the arms 226-225 arelocked together by means ofv a spring actuated latch 245 which ispivoted.to one of the arms 226 and is adapted to engage a pin 246 on theother of the shear blade arms before the rollers 234 have moved beyondthe cam surfaces 235. As the piston 23| approaches the lower limit ofits stroke, the latch 245 is disengaged from the pin 246 by means of avertically disposed wedge-shaped finger 241 that is mounted on thecrosshead 243; and the arms and shear blades are returned to their openposition by the springs 233. After the blades have been opened, thepiston 23| and the parts connected thereto are returned to their upperposif tion by connecting the top of the cylinder 232 with the vacuumline |33 and as the shear frame approaches the end of this upwardmovement the rollers 234 engage the beveled ends 249 of the larms 236and separate them sufliciently to permit the rollers 234 to pass betweenthem, without disturbing the position of the separated shear arms. Whenthe return movement is completed the rollers 234 have been lifted abovethe level of the cam surfaces 235 and the arms are then restored totheir operative position (see Figs. 8

and 9) by the tension of the spring 243.

The above describedmovements of the piston 23| and of the partsassociated therewith are controlled by the action of a two-'way valve(located in the valve box 250) which is similar in all essentialrespects to the corresponding valve 33 heretofore described inconnection with Fig. 2; and which is alternately moved up and down (inthe box 253) under the control of a cam 262 on the cam shaft |35. Whenthe valve is moved up the line 24| which leads to the upper end of thepiston cylinder 232 is connected to the compressed air conduit |33; andwhen it is moved down this line (24|) is putin communication with thevac- Y uum conduit |93.

The cylinder 232 is provided at a point adjacent its lower end with aseries of vent ports 256 which control the flow of air from and to thespace below the moving piston; and which are closed thereby, near theend of its downward stroke, to provide a cushion of compressed air thatwill arrest the moving parts without sensible shock or Jar.

In order to assist the action of the downwardly moving shear blades inaccelerating the delivery of the severed mold charges to the formingrecep` tacles, each shear arm 226 is provided with a detachablesenil-cylindrical shield 255: and when the blades are closed, theseshields are brought together to form an inverted cup guard member, thatcloly embraces the sides andupper end of the severed charge as it isprojected downwardly at a rapidly accelerated speed by the pistonactuated parts.

When the stream issuing through the orifice |51 is to be severed,compressed air is admitted to the top of the cylinder 232 and the pistonactuated shear mechanism is moved downwardly. At thebeginning of thismovement the co-engagement and ccaction of the cam elements 234-235closes the shear blades 225-225 and severs a charge of glass from thecontinuously flowing stream. The downward movement of the piston 23| 'isthen rapidly accelerated by the increasing fluid pressure in thecylinder 232 and the closed shear blade and guard elements :2s-425, 255-255 direct and project the severed charge toward the receiving mold at avelocity which is not only greater than the maximum rate of iiow of theoncoming stream but is, also preferably in excess of that which thesevered charge would acquire under gravitational action alone. Thisrapid acceleration of the downward movement is aided by the fact thattlie mass of the 'mving parts is relatively small, and by theelimination of any retractive springs for the purpose of returning theseparts to their upper position; and 'it is obvious that the acceleratingforce may be augmented to any desired degree, either by increasing thepressure in the compressed air supply line or by increasing the size ofthe cylinder 232. Shortly before the parts reachl the end of the downstroke, the shear blades and guard elements 225-255 are opened and thecharge is delivered to the mold at the highest attained velocity ofmovement. As soon as the blades have been opened, the downwardly movingele'- ments are brought to rest by the compression of the air cushion inthe bottom of the cylinder 232; and this action may be aided, ifdesired, by connecting the top of the cylinder to the vacuum line |93before the end' of the down-stroke.

From the foregoing itis apparent that by using this improvedshearmechanism, successively severed mld charges can be delivered to thereceiving receptacles of a forming machine at a. velocity materiallygreater than they would attain under natural gravity fall and that thereis thus eliminated the necessity of bringing these receptacles to a stopfor the purpose of receiving the charges and thereby materiallyincreasethe speed of -opf eration of the machine in which they are pressedand/or blown toflnished form.

The shape of each of the severed charges may be controlled by varyingthe'initial downward justment is effected by changing either the sizeand axial positions Vof the cam wheels 82-32 (as best shown in Figs. land 2) or by changing the inclination of the cam surfaces 235-235 of theFigs. 'l and 8 construction. In either case an increase in the speed ofthe transverse cutting movement of the shear' blades, as compared withtheir concurrent downward movement will result in the production ofblunter or more obtuse severed ends, and vice versa. of the final shapeof the severed mold charges may be secured by altering the internalcontour of the guard sleeve elements lwhich are attached to'the ends ofthe shear arms and which embrace and confine the sides and upper ends ofthese charges during the time of their forced accelerated delivery tothe receiving receptacles. In this connection, it is to be noted thatthese guard elements are preferably made of some thermally resistantmaterial and are highly polished in both these inner and outer surfacesto reduce to a minimum any effect which they might otherwise have on theexternal surfaces ofthe hot material. This feature of construction isparticularlyimportant if the guard sleeve members are to exert anyreshaping action of the enclosed mold charge.

A further control ,z d. A method of forming charges of plastic ma- `imold chargesin which the shear blades move.

downwardly with the stream during the severing operation, and that suchapparatus and `procedures structurally and functionally distinguishi'rom the 4subject matter herein claimed `and 1fiorm the subject matterof' copending applicaons. Y, What is claimed as new fand desired tosecure by Letters Patent is: 'l v l. The method of severing a chargefrom a stream of plastic material whichconsists in moving a pair ofshear .blades in the direction .of `travel of the stream while closingsaid blades to eiiect the severance, and continuing the? movement ofsaid vblades after the severance to 4accelerate the delivery of thecharge and to simultaneously shape the upper end of said charge.

2. The method of severingjsuccessive mold charges from a ilowing streamof plastic material which consists in moving a pair of opposed shearblades in the direction of travel of said stream while rapidly closingthe blades at the beginning of such movement to eiIect a severance,maintaining said blades in their closed position after the severancewhile continuing the movement thereof to accelerate the speed kof thesevered charge and then opening said blades while the .movementthereof-.ls continued to release such charge and propel it in to areceiving mold at its attained velocity.

d. .d severing mechanism for plastic material such as molten glass,comprising a pair of opposed'and vertically movable shear blades, meansfor moving said blades downwardly at a high speed means operative at thebeginning of the downward movement 4for moving said shear blades to'their closed position, means for holding said blades in their closedposition, means ,.ffor retarding the downward speed of said blades asthey approach the end oi such downward movement, and means operativejust prior to the nd oi' the downward movement for opening said 4. Ashear .mechanism comprising a pair of` opposed shear blades, means forvertically reciprocating said blades, means operative at the beginningot a downward movement for closing said blades, means for locking saidblades in their closed position, and means for. unlocking said bladesnear the end of the downward movement.

5. A shear mechanism comprising a pair of opposed and verticallyreciprocable shearV blades; means for reciprocating said blades, meansasso-4 ciated with said blades for moving them from opento closedposition during the downward movement thereof, means for locking saidblades in closed position, means for opening said blades near thecompletion of their downward movement, and means forl yieldingly holdingsaid blades in their open position.

.terial such as molten glass, which consists in establishing a dependingstream of such material,

"periodically severing a freely hanging portion of such stream andsubjecting the severed end of n such portion to a shaping fo'rce whilepropelling such portion toward a receptacle therefor.

7. A method of forming mold charges of plastic material such as moltenglass, which consists in establishing a depending stream of such ma- 5terial, periodically severing a freely hanging portion ofsuch stream,subjecting each such portion to a projecting force while shaping thesevered end thereof.

8. A shear mechanism comprising a pair of opposed shear blades, a pistonattached to said blades for vertically reciprocating the same, 'acylinder in which said piston reciprocates, means for closing saidblades during the downward l movementthereof, means for locking saidblades in a closed position, and means for opening said blades as theyapproach the end of such downward movement. i

9. "A shear mechanism comprising a pair of opposed shear blades, meansfor vertically reciprocating said blades, pivotally mounted memjbersprojecting underneath'said blades for closing the same during thedownward movement 1 thereof, and means for holding said members inposition beneath said blades at the beginning oi -such downward movementwhile permitting such members ltob'e moved outwardly during the upwardmovement of said blades.

10. A shear mechanism comprising a pair of opposed shear blades, meansfor vertically re- -ciprocating said blades, pivotally mounted membersIfor engaging said blades and moving the same to a closed positionduring the downward movement thereof, a spring connecting said piv--otally mounted members, and inclined surfaces on said members adaptedto be engaged by said blades on the upward movement thereof to move saidmembers outwardly without changing the position oi said blades.

ll. A shear mechanism comprising a pair of opposed verticallyreciprocable shear blades, means for reciprocating said blades,pivotally mounted members having cam portions projecting underneath saidblades adapted to be engaged by said blades on the' downward movementthereof to move said blades to a closed position, means for yieldinglyholding the cam' surfaces of said members beneath said blades, means forholding said blades in a closed position, and means for opening saidblades as they approach the end of theird'ownward movement, said membersbeing provided with inclined surfaces adapted to be engaged by saidblades on the upward movement thereof to move the same outwardly withoutaffecting said blades.

12. A shear mechanism comprising a pair of opposed verticallyreciprocable shear blades, a

piston attached to said blades for reciprocating the same, a cylinder inwhich said piston reciprocates, meansior periodically delivering motivefluid to said cylinder, pivotally mounted members projecting underneathsaid blades for en` 'gaging and closing the same during downwardmovement thereof, and means for moving said members outwardly 'duringthe upward. movement of said blades whereby the position of said bladesis not changed.

13. A shear mechanism comprising a pair ci opposed shear blades, apiston attached to said 14. A shear mechanism comprising a pair of 6 Aa,1e4,1a4

ing said blades as they approach the endvof their downward movement, andmeans associated with said cams and adapted to be engaged by said bladeson the upward movement thereof for moving said cams out o1' the path oftravel of said blades.

h MILDRED M. WADSWORTH, Administratrix oj the Estate ol Frank L. O.Wadsworth, Deceased.

